Symbiosis
by Mordinette
Summary: Summary: Commander Shepard has a problem. There are two attractive aliens on her team; how can she possibly choose between them? It takes an unexpected find on a mission to help her realize that maybe she doesn't have to. femShep/Thane/Garrus fill from the kmeme. Rated M for language, violence and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I wrote this as a fill for a prompt on the ME kmeme. I usually write about couples, but it IS hard to decide between Garrus and Thane, so I decided to write the fill..._

_Thank you to Spyke1985 for beta reading, correcting mistakes and adding a few lines here and there.  
_

**Disclaimer**_**:**_ I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

* * *

"Commander, scans indicate a possible dust storm forming in the area," the pilot's voice crackled over the shuttle's speakers. "Shall we abort landing and return to the Normandy?"

_'Shit. Just what we needed.' _Shepard rubbed her forehead with her gloved fingers.

"No, if we don't land now it might be too late to come back later." She sighed. "We'll just have to hurry up, finish this damned mission and get our asses out as quickly as possible."

"Understood, Commander."

The speakers shut off and the noise of the engine's hum filled the cabin again.

"That is... unfortunate," Thane remarked.

"Yeah. Let's just hope that the only reason communications from the mine stopped is some relay burning out, nothing more," Shepard said, shaking her head as if even she didn't believe herself.

"We can't possibly be that lucky," Garrus snorted, shooting an amused smirk at her.

She smiled at him then leaned back against the shuttle's wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Sitting across from her teammates, she watched with pride and affection as they checked their weapons with cool confidence.

She couldn't have asked for better companions. They were both incredible snipers and powerful fighters who had saved her ass on more than one occasion. She took them along on as many missions as she could, and a kind of easy routine had developed among them. They got into position and moved along from cover to cover like a well rehearsed dance troupe, communicating without words, knowing by instinct if one of them needed backup or rescue.

The fact that both were really, really easy on the eyes didn't hurt either.

She found Thane intriguing from the moment they met, and their long talks had a profound effect on her. She took every chance to visit him in Life Support, to hear his amazing velvety voice and look into those big black eyes. He was so calm, so confident and yet... So lonely. Her heart ached for him when he shared the terrible burden that he had been carrying with her: his life, the death of his wife, his guilt about her and his son... She longed to reach out and touch him, hold him, take away his loneliness and... Her own.

But, there was also Garrus in Main Battery, her best friend and trusted confidant. She wasn't sure when it was that her feelings for him developed from simple friendship into something more; the kind of crush that made her palms sweat and her heart race when he looked at her with those beautiful, piercingly blue eyes. She couldn't get enough of his silky voice, his dry humor, the way he carried himself, and the way he understood and supported her when nobody else did. And recently she started to feel that maybe she meant more to him, too, and considered her more than just an old friend.

_'Dammit, why can't life be easy at least once in a while?' _She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to chase away the confusing feelings that kept her awake last night, and – if she was honest with herself – many nights before that. Instead, all the doubts and desires just bubbled up to the surface, and the same scenarios played over and over in her mind again.

Suddenly she got a feeling that she was being watched and when she snapped her eyes open they were met with Thane's intense gaze. The way he looked at her made her stomach tremble and she felt the blood rush to her face and paint it red. She stole a quick glance at Garrus to see if he had noticed anything, as if she owed him to stay loyal.

_'God, I'm such an idiot. I'm behaving like a shy schoolgirl,' _she berated herself. _'Snap out of it! Concentrate on the mission... Mine... Cerberus supplier... Gone silent... Investigate... Right.' _

* * *

They landed on a barren patch of land close to a ravine, across from the mine. The facility was cut into the side of a mountain, a long bridge and dozens of steps connecting it to the other side. The planet was dry and desolate, with scarce vegetation clinging to life here and there in small clusters.

The team made its way across the bridge, looking out for any sign of trouble, and when they found none, they descended the stairs. The entrance door had been locked with some kind of encryption. Shepard hacked the code, and they entered with their guns at the ready. The hallway was empty and clean except for some blood smeared on a wall close to a doorway.

"That's not good," Garrus remarked.

"Shit. Something did happen here. Keep your eyes open!" Shepard barked as she continued on, all senses on full alert, the hair on the back of her neck standing up.

There was still no sign of life in the next room, but plenty of blood on the floor and walls, and spent heat sinks scattered everywhere.

Thane noticed a PDA on the floor, picked it up and handed it to Shepard. She scanned the entries with a frown on her face. Could this have anything to do with what happened here?

'''''''''''''''''''''''''

_"Cerig, _

_That stuff in the cave? Incredible find! Do you have any idea how many credits we can get for these on the black market? We're gonna be rich, man! _

_Jared" _

_''''''''''''''''''''''''  
_

_"Jared, _

_I know, right? But keep your mouth shut about this. We don't want to tip off some idiot about our little secret. In the meantime I'll contact the guy I know from the Blue Suns and see if they are interested. _

_Cerig" _

_''''''''''''''''''''''''  
_

They found the first bodies in the mess hall. It looked like some were caught by surprise, but some were gunned down trying to escape or hide.

"Senseless, indiscriminate loss of life," Thane said in a low voice.

"Yeah. These bastards were definitely after something. And I don't think it was slaves," Garrus noted, checking every nook of the room, looking for something - anything to make sense of the carnage.

Suddenly a side door swished open and he yelled, "Heads up!"

Shepard ducked behind a low wall on instinct, narrowly escaping a bullet to the head. She got into position, but before she could even aim her rifle Thane had already shot the merc right between the eyes.

"Blue Suns," Garrus growled, then took another trooper out with a well aimed shot.

"Yeah. What a shock," Shepard snickered while she peppered the next group with Cryo Ammo, leaving Thane to shatter them with his Locust.

"Yeah!" she yelled triumphantly as they exploded into tiny, icy fragments. Her blood pumping, she waited for more victims to come through the door, but everything was quiet for now.

* * *

They searched several more rooms, but all they found were a few more bodies, some work logs, and a couple of credit chits. Until they came to a big storage area and heard somebody screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Dammit, Rakus, if your men are so incompetent that they can't even stop a few intruders, go do it yourself! We don't have time to fart around here, you idiots! We have to get to that fuckin' cave before the storm hits. Where's that fuckin' map?!"

"Nice guy," Garrus said quietly.

"He must be the mercs' leader," Shepard whispered as they sneaked behind some crates and got into position. Once settled down, she switched to her beloved Widow. "All right, Garrus, you take the trooper on the left. Thane, you've got the one in the middle. And I'm going to have fun with the one on the right. Then we'll deal with the rest. On my mark..."

They readied their rifles, focused on their targets and slowed down their breathing... "Mark!"

A loud bang shattered the air, three heads exploded, and there were three less mercs to worry about.

The next moment all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted from all directions, each shot concentrated on their location. They scattered behind different covers to minimize the possibility of providing an easy target and returned fire. Thane threw a group against the wall with his biotics and Shepard finished them off with her assault rifle. Garrus made a few more headshots, and soon the only enemy remaining was the leader. After Garrus overloaded his shields, Thane threw Warp at him, and Shepard pumped him full of lead he wasn't going to be a problem anymore.

Then everything went silent. The team emerged from behind the crates and started to survey the aftermath of the battle.

"Okay, so they came for some mysterious stuff in a cave. We have to find that cave and see what the hell that stuff is. That asshole mentioned some map - let's see if we can find it," Shepard said, looking around the room.

"This might be it," Garrus announced, picking up a PDA from under a dead merc.

"Lemme see. Yeah, I think you're right." Shepard took the pad and uploaded the data to her omni-tool. "Okay, let's go."

Once they exited the facility, Shepard radioed the shuttle.

"Johnson, we're heading to a cave about half a mile south of here. I'll let you know when we get there."

"Commander, are you sure? The storm is almost on top of us."

"We'll be fine. Just stay put and I'll contact you later. Shepard out."

"Famous last words," Garrus snickered.

"We won't let a little dust storm stop us." Shepard winked and headed out.

Garrus and Thane exchanged exasperated glances, then fell in step behind her.

"Amonkira help us," Thane murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them. :)_

_Thank you to Spyke1985 for beta reading._

**_Warning: _**_Some light sexual content in this chapter._

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story._

* * *

The cave was still some way off in the distance when the wind picked up and dry soil and dead plants began to swirl around in the air. Soon it started to take more and more effort to walk, as the strong air currents buffeted them. Even Garrus, despite his bigger bulk, had trouble walking straight. Before long, small particles of dirt and sand covered their bodies, and it was getting difficult to see where they were going.

"What happened to '_we'll get our asses out as quickly as possible'_?" Garrus yelled through the wind.

"It's too late to turn back now, we're almost there!" Shepard yelled back.

Holding onto one another they struggled on, trying not to get too much of the dust into their mouths and eyes, and when they finally reached the cave they staggered in, coughing and wheezing, covered in dirt.

Slowly they caught their breaths and started to look around, examining their surroundings. The cave's entrance was nothing more than earth and rocks, with a few stubborn plants dotting the floor as far in as any light could reach. Beyond that all they could see was darkness that seemed to stretch endlessly into the belly of the mountain.

"Okay, let me check in, then we can proceed," Shepard said, then tapped her omni-tool to turn her comm system on. "Johnson, come in... Johnson, come in... Come in, Johnson."

All she got was static in reply.

"Dammit, the storm must be interfering with the signal. Fine, we'll just have to try later. Let's go and see what's further in," she said as she turned on her flashlight and headed towards the darkness, Garrus and Thane following close behind.

The cavern started out spacious, but got narrower and narrower the farther they walked. Soon they reached a tunnel that was so tight that they had to squeeze through one by one.

They continued on in the darkness, the earth and rock wall brushing against their armor and skin.

"I hope this is worth it," Garrus grunted as he pushed through another small opening.

"I'm starting to see some green light up ahead," Shepard said encouragingly.

"Hmm. I see it, too," Thane added, and the next moment they found themselves in a large underground chamber.

They stopped dead in their tracks, staring at the sight around them. The walls were made of luminescent crystals, there was a beautiful green pond at one end surrounded by sparkling, white sand, edged by the softest moss they'd ever seen, a tiny crevice in the ceiling introducing golden rays of light which made everything glisten like precious gems.

Shepard finally broke the stunned silence. "Wow. This is gorgeous." Her voice was thick with awe as she stared at the beauty before her.

"Indeed," Thane agreed.

They turned off their flashlights and started to explore the chamber, wandering around with excitement and appreciation for the magnificent sights they encountered.

Some crystals were smooth and angular, some were sharp and spiky, and there was a wall covered in small, squishy globules that glowed in strikingly beautiful fluorescent colors. It seemed like some of them had been broken off.

"I wonder if this is the stuff the Blue Suns were after," Shepard said, pulling one of them off and rolling it between her fingers.

"Maybe, but what is it?' Garrus wondered.

"No idea. We should take some samples and let Mordin analyze them."

They broke several pieces off and put them away in their gear.

"Maybe we should rest for a while. The storm is likely still raging outside," Thane suggested.

"Good idea... Shepard, what are you doing?" Garrus asked with a stunned expression on his face.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm really, really hot and covered in dirt, so I'm going to take a swim."

With that, she proceeded to remove her armor and undersuit, stripping all the way down to her underwear. Then she headed towards the pond, leaving Thane and Garrus staring after her in shock.

She slowly waded in the cool water until it was waist deep, then fully submerged herself to rinse all the dust off. The water felt amazing against her skin; she had been feeling overheated and anxious for some reason and it was wonderful to have all that drained from her body, if only for a few moments. She rose up and flipped her head back to get her hair and the water out of her eyes, her neck arching backwards, sending glistening droplets of water in all directions. She looked like a goddess rising out of the pond, her body sparkling with the tiny fluorescent bubbles on her skin.

Thane and Garrus were watching her intensely from the shore, mesmerized and frozen to the spot.

Thane was the first one to collect himself and break the silence.

"Rinsing off this dirt is a good idea. I think I'm going to follow the Commander's example."

"Yeah, you're right. We might as well," Garrus agreed and started to unclasp his armor.

Shepard watched them from the water, her heart pounding as they slowly peeled off their armor and clothing to reveal their alien bodies. Garrus was all angles and plates, broad shoulders and thin waist, with patches of soft leathery skin over his tight muscles. He stripped all the way down and she was surprised to see no... external equipment.

_'Hmmm... It must be hidden inside. Interesting...' _

Then she turned her attention to Thane, who was down to his short underpants. His body was sleek and muscular; honed into the weapon he was today by years of training and experience, his green scales decorated with delicate black patterns trailing along his form from his head to his toes. He was beautiful.

She smiled as they entered the pond, then playfully splashed them, eliciting a chuckle from both. Garrus quickly approached and unceremoniously dunked her under the water. She popped up, laughing, then dove back in, swimming around under the surface until she found his legs and pulled him down. She wanted to do the same to Thane, but he was faster and grabbed her instead, lifted her out of the water and launched her back in with a big splash. Soon laughter and squeals bounced off the walls as they hunted and dunked each other, delighting in the carefree joy of the moment.

After a while they quieted down and left the pond to settle down on the soft moss, Shepard in the middle and Garrus and Thane reclining next to her.

"Much better," she said, leaning back on her elbows. Her wet underwear clung to her body, two small protrusions hinting at her hardened nipples under her bra.

They sat in silence for a few moments but the calm didn't last long. Heat was spreading through her whole body again, her heart starting to beat faster, and she felt like she was crawling out of her skin. She missed the physical contact that she'd just shared with Garrus and Thane and wished that they had touched her... Kissed her... Caressed her.

To distract herself, she pulled up the interface on her omni-tool.

"Let's see if I have any data about this place on here," she said, tapping on some buttons.

Suddenly a vid flashed open on the screen and loud moans and cheesy music filled the cavern. The camera panned along a human woman's naked, writhing body down to her groin with a turian's head moving enthusiastically between her thighs, his long blue tongue licking her folds and pushing inside.

"Dammit, Joker!" Shepard yelled and frantically tried to shut the vid off. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Sure, blame Joker," Garrus laughed.

"Very funny." Shepard fumed. "He said that he was going to put some useful files on my omni-tool. I should have known that he was going to pull something like this."

"Interesting," Thane said and she could have sworn that he was smirking - an expression she had never seen on his face before.

She finally managed to turn her omni-tool off and collapsed on the moss.

_"Shit. As if I wasn't horny enough already,"_ she muttered under her breath.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you _silvertounged-witch, nicky sykes2, Defiant Anjeru, voltagelisa and Goddess of Death 09 _for the reviews. I really appreciate them. :)_

_Thank you Spyke1985 for beta reading and adding a line here and there._

**_Warning: This chapter contains adult content._**

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story._

* * *

"Say what?" Garrus looked at her with a raised eyebrow plate, flicking his mandibles in amused bewilderment.

"Hmm?" she asked back with innocent eyes.

"I believe you said you were horny?"

"Oh... You heard that." She blushed.

"We both did," Thane said with a smile.

_'Damn... Oh well. As long as the cat's out of the bag...' _ She decided it was no use denying what she had just uttered, or how she felt, so she shrugged her shoulders and waved a hand at their surroundings as she started to speak.

"I don't know... I've been feeling strange ever since we came in here. Hot. Anxious. Intense... Am I the only one?"

"No, you're not. I've been feeling the same," Garrus said slowly.

"I concur," Thane agreed, "it is possible that something in here is having an effect on us. Perhaps it is the samples we've collected."

She watched those luscious lips move but barely heard a word. An irresistible urge surged through her veins and she reached out to touch his face. She remembered the time when he had talked about a memory of tasting someone's tongue in his mouth and she felt her stomach tremble, just like then.

"I got the feeling from one of our talks that drell kiss the same way humans do," she said in a low voice, barely louder than a whisper, unable to tear her gaze away from him.

"That must have been _some_ conversation," Garrus interjected, but she went on.

"I wonder..."

Before she could finish, Thane leaned over and kissed her. She eagerly parted her lips and he pushed his tongue in, searching for hers. She kissed him back, eyes closed, heart racing, her hand sliding to the back of his neck.

A soft rumble reverberated in his throat and he pulled her closer, holding her tight as he intensified his kiss. It was better than she'd ever imagined: warm, passionate, tender. She melted in his arms, forgetting about the world around her until suddenly she became aware of a low growl and pulled away.

'_Oh God. Garrus._'

She turned to face him, afraid that she might find anger in his eyes, but what she saw instead was intense heat and arousal.

"Garrus." She waited for him to say something, but he was just staring at her like a predator at his prey.

"Umm..." she finally said, blushing, "Do turians kiss like that?"

"I don't know. I need to do some research." He flicked his mandibles in a smirk then bent down to press his mouth to hers.

She traced his mouth plates with her tongue, surprised at how much softer they felt than she'd expected, and when his tongue darted out she brushed her own against it, their union eliciting a soft moan from somewhere deep within her chest.

He was a quick study and turned out to be an amazing kisser, so when he left her lips she felt a twang of emptiness and loss. It didn't last long, however, for the next moment he licked her neck all the way from her ear to her collarbone, then back to her jawline. His textured tongue felt wonderful on her sensitive skin, and she threw her head back to provide him better access.

He nuzzled the crook of her neck then slowly moved down to her breasts, carefully grazing his talons over her hard nipples ghosting under her bra. The gentle brush took her breath away and she trembled lightly. He found this part of her body, hidden by some garment but so sensitive to his touch, fascinating.

He licked the skin around her cleavage and gently nibbled her breasts through the fabric. She let out a gasp and arched her back, desire flooding every inch of her body. Wanting to feel him against her skin, she reached behind her back, unhooked her bra and started to remove it. Garrus had none of that: he pushed her hands away, hooked his talons in the straps and pulled them down her arms at a torturously slow pace, taking her form in with fire in his eyes.

By the time the cloth was all gone she was trembling with anticipation, and when he finally bent down and snaked his tongue around a nipple, a guttural moan escaped her throat. Arching her back into his touch, she grabbed his fringes then moved her fingers down, all the way to the back of his neck, and began to caress the sensitive skin. She was rewarded with a lustful sound, somewhere between a purr and a growl, and he licked her breast in one long stroke.

She vaguely registered some movement on her other side, and the next moment she felt two strong hands grab her panties and pull them all the way down her legs, removing them completely.

Thane pushed her legs open, then settled down between them to trail hot kisses from her taut stomach down to her wet seam. He slid his tongue inside her folds, and, finding a little nub, he swirled his tongue around it. She moaned and bucked her hips at the sensation and he rumbled appreciatively at her reaction. He resumed his worship of her, licking her clitoris up and down and round and round, slowly and gently, then with increased speed and pressure, sending jolts of heat from her groin to her stomach and shivers down her spine.

Garrus looked up and watched Thane's tongue feast on her, her thighs quivering as he changed his rhythm and started to push inside in deep strokes. He found the whole scene incredibly arousing and his erection promptly emerged from his already loosened plates.

He bent down for a kiss, which she welcomed wholeheartedly, then turned his attention back to her breasts, kneading and licking the soft mounds. Her senses overwhelmed by Garrus' tongue on her breasts and Thane's in her folds, she finally reached her climax with a cry, shaking uncontrollably as Thane kept up his ministrations until her body quieted down.

He reclined beside her again with a content smile, delighted that they could make her happy, and not really expecting anything in return, but she got up and settled down over him, straddling his legs. She noted his bulging erection and now it was her turn to pull his underpants off. His penis was thick and hard, maroon colored and intriguingly textured with bumps and ridges. She stroked it with her fingers from the base to the head a few times, then bent down and licked the same path with her tongue. He gasped and unconsciously bucked his hips at her actions, and when she took him in her mouth and started to swirl her tongue around the head of his member he closed his eyes, weaved his fingers in her silky hair and let the sensations wash over him.

Garrus watched the scene with great interest, then got up and moved behind her. He stroked her back with his talons along her spine from her neck all the way down to her hips, then back again to her waist, lingering in the depressions on both sides, and squeezed them was his best friend - his only real friend at this point - but she meant much more than that to him. Every time he saw her he felt like his life was worth living. He needed her in his life. And right now he needed to touch her and feel her soft skin and... More. He lifted her hips towards him then slid a finger all the way from her back down to her wet opening. He could feel her tremble at his touch and when he pushed his finger forward and stroked the little nub he found there, she made a whimpering sound that sent a jolt of heat to his cock.

He took his shaft in his hand and pushed the head against her wet center, circling and teasing her clitoris, then slowly entered her. She felt so hot and tight - he never would have imagined that being inside her would give him so much pleasure. He growled at the effort it took to resist plunging in and taking her in a frenzy of hard thrusts.

The friction and fullness from his cock made her insides tighten and throb with desire again and she pushed her hips towards him, allowing him to bury himself inside her to the hilt.

He started to pump in and out, first slowly, gently, then faster and harder, until he could no longer hold back and he grabbed her hips and pounded into her relentlessly.

She stroked Thane's shaft while she licked and suckled it in rhythm with Garrus' thrusts, heat building up inside her core again, and soon she saw stars behind her eyelids as her inner walls clenched down and started convulsing.

Her tight spasms around him was more than he could bear, and Garrus came with a roaring growl, thrusting in a few more times before calming down.

He bent down and licked her neck, holding her shaking figure close to his with one arm while leaning on the other, emitting that purring growl again that she could feel vibrating inside her own body. He then slowly slid out and settled down to the side.

The next moment she found herself on her back with Thane above her, kissing her lips, her neck, her breasts, pushing his hard cock into her seam that was still sensitive from her release. She didn't think that her over-stimulated body could take any more, but when he started to move inside her, hitting all the right nerves, his tiny scales rubbing against her clitoris, she could feel the heat build up in her belly again.

She stroked the frills along his cheeks, then moved her fingers to the back of his neck, caressing his velvety skin, then slid her hands down his muscular back all the way down to his ass, pulling him closer, letting him push deeper. He bent down and they kissed as he pistoned in and out, her hips meeting his every move thrust for thrust.

He took one of her legs and pushed her knee up towards her chest, changing his angle and increasing his pace. It didn't take much more than that to push her over the edge. Her body went rigid for a second, then fireworks exploded in her groin and her body shook uncontrollably with her orgasm.

Thane followed close behind her with a loud groan and a few more thrusts. Then he bent down, kissed her again and slowly pulled out, collapsing on the moss beside her with a contented sigh. She snuggled up next to him, reaching behind her and pulling Garrus into her back. He put his arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.

They laid there in a happy union and soon fell into a blissful sleep.

* * *

"Commander Shepard. Commander Shepard, can you hear me."

"Mmm... EDI?" It took Shepard a few seconds to open her eyes and realize that it was EDI who was trying to contact her, not that pesky reporter who was asking her some stupid questions in her dream. She sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. "What's going on?"

"The storm is over, but Johnson could not reach you over the radio. Is everything all right?"

Garrus and Thane started to stir and reach for her, moving in unison like a pair of predators hunting their pray.

"Everything is just fine," Shepard said, trying to suppress a chuckle. "Umm... We have some things to wrap up here before we leave. Shepard out."

Then she turned back to her favorite teammates and giggled as they pulled her down.

That stuff in the cave was an incredible find indeed.

.

.

.

- THE END -


End file.
